Confidence | How Pinterest Can Help + It's Free!

When I started out blogging, I was in my late teens and I had no idea who I was. I didn't even realize I had no idea who I was. I just started blogging about my writing and general topics that interested me. I was stiff and starched and spoke from what I thought was an ivory tower (it was kind of a mole hill). Ugh! Who wants to be friends with THAT?

Fast forward to the last six months. In that space of time I've a) discovered my ideal makeup look, b) discovered my wardrobe look, c) shaken off some of the erudite dust of my blog and become a lot more open and confident with the whole kit and caboodle. AND I NEVER THOUGHT I EVER WOULD. But here I am.

"Okay, that's nice, Jenny, but HOW YOU DO DAT." Oh, I'm glad you asked.

listen to your preferences!

I recently started an exercise on Pinterest in which I pin JUST the items that really say "JENNY." Then I look over them and ask myself, "What are the unifying threads here?" Turns out, they tend to be BLACK + WHITE + GOLD + CHAMPAGNE colours; also, minimalism with clean lines and tasteful pops of elegance. That's me. I've finally begun to discover ME! DO YOU KNOW HOW FREEING THAT IS? It's the bee's knees!

"OKAY. We hear you, Jenny, but I like a LOT of stuff. What if they're all mismatched and DON'T have a unifying thread?" I've got the answer to that, too.

edit! edit! edit!

You have to learn to edit yourself. Like you, I like lots of things! But when it comes to style and aesthetic, I've learned to be CRITICAL and edit out what DOESN'T match. No shade thrown on anything else, I'm just here to be a holistic, unified entity - especially online!

here's how pinterest can help!

Start a new board. This board is YOU. Hunt down only the images which really speak to YOU. Cosy bookshop settings? Vintage lace? Steaming cups of coffee? Muted, neutral colours? And edit! edit! edit! Pretty soon you're going to see a similarity in the variety of the images you pin. Pretty soon you're going to know just what to look for. Pretty soon, you're going to have a clearer image of who YOU are!

drown out the noise

A lot of self-doubt comes from the constant buffeting we take from other people and their images of themselves. We're tossed about, trying to be one of them, and ourselves, all at the same time - and we just end up not knowing who we really are! So shut off the noise. Focus on yourself. Once you know who YOU are, you're not going to feel that pressure nearly so badly. You get your self-confidence, you get your own voice, you become a stronger person. You become you.

Okay, got it? Now go forth and start your boards! SHARE YOUR BOARDS! I want to learn who you are! I want to see you discover yourselves because YOU ARE AMAZING!

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ripostes:

This is solid advice and a good way for figuring yourself out, I think, especially for those who have no idea where to begin figuring out who they are. I've actually done something like this in the past, though I had never thought of starting an actual board for that purpose. What a neat idea! It's like a mood board for yourself. ^_^

Turns out my particular strain of an anxiety disorder likes to take perfectly functional strategies like this and turn them against me so I had to back off and look for other methods of self-discovery (long complicated story). I may try starting a Pinterest board in the future, though, when I think I'm ready. I do love Pinterest so. And it looks like fun.

And yes, absolutely, I wouldn't want you to do something that would turn into a negative for you. Quite the opposite of the purpose of this endeavour! But if/when you are ready, just have fun. Don't make it THE ANSWER TO LIFE'S PROBLEMS AND THE SOLE DISCOVERY OF WHO I AM. Pfft, not even Pinterest can do that.

Although, Pinterest can do a lot of things. Kind of awesome.

And I know it's not going to just poof magically take care of anxiety, but you definitely are worth the time and self-care and self-discovery. All the good things. <3

If Pinterest /could/ do that, I imagine it could eclipse all other social media sites in popularity. Though it really can do quite a lot.

I think that was part of my problem. I was giving it too much weight because I was not understanding its purpose, and I was using it as something that put me under pressure as opposed to liberating me. And it wasn't just the Pinterest/Tumblr methods I was using, I believe I was approaching the entire concept of self-discovery incorrectly. Part of this is due to my anxiety took hold of it, because it didn't start out that way, but some of it might have just been inexperience.

Anyhow this post got me thinking about what, exactly, I was doing wrong, as well as provided me with ideas on how to proceed in the future. <3

I definitely want this to be a positive push for those who think, "Who am I? Will I ever find out?" because I started off wondering who I was and if I would ever find out, and then I looked back and discovered that key decisions (good-bye, colours in my wardrobe; good-bye!) had begun to teach me more about myself.

(ANECDOTE TIME. I was watching an episode of MasterChef and I thought, "Gosh darn it, Gordon Ramsay has so much CONFIDENCE. He has so much charisma and person and authority. I wish I could have that - " *screech* *rewind* "WAIT. IF I WORK AT IT THEN I'LL GET IT. TA DA.")

You just gotta drown out all the images of yourself which are less than what you want to be, and go for the gold. <3

Thank you so much! Pinterest is the bomb, and I am mildly addicted to it. These are some really helpful tips for how to actually use it, and I really needed to read them. I now have a new perspective and a new zeal for Pinterest, haha!

Pinterest is amazing - I've been on it for a few years now and I love the satisfaction that comes from looking through my boards. Most of them are related to writing stuff, but I have one for my style and recently created a board for all things country (why didn't I do this sooner?? :P ). In any case, I condone this type of addiction :) Also, your choice of black, white, gold, and champagne make for gorgeous and undeniably elegant colour themes <3

You da bomb! Isn't it grand? I used to think Pinterest was nothing but a massive waste of time with minimal redemption value (ha ha, but I still love using it), but seen from this angle, I think it's marvelous. :3

halooo! I'm not a writer, but I enjoy reading your posts as discipline & grace are relevant to any field. [And I enjoyed Plenilune etc. and these posts so there's that too :)]

It's really encouraging to see how you *can* grow in different areas (style, writing, confidence...) and that these things *are* actually attainable. In a world where we can access so much through the internet (it can be overwhelming!) it is good to see that I can take concrete steps in moving forward. Thanks for the reminder!

OKAY. ACCORDING TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD, YOU. ARE. GORGEOUS. I love love LOVE your aesthetic! It's so beautiful and ladylike and refined, so springy and comfortable too! Thank you so much for sharing! :3 :3 :3

Sometimes growing is painful, this is true; but sometimes growing is super exciting and exhilarating and fun! I definitely like that part of growing. XD